'Homeland' Captures Showtime's Largest Audience of 2014

The terrorist drama, starring Clair Danes, ran its skein of audience growth in its premiere window to two full months as Sundays night’s installment, entitled "Kreig Nicht Lieb," captured 2.11 million viewers in the 9 p.m. hour, according to Nielsen data.

Not only was the Dec. 14 debut the highest-rated episode and highest-rated night of season four, but it stands as Showtime’s biggest of the year, besting the 1.97 million viewers who tuned in the second-season finale of the sophomore run of Ray Donovan.

Sunday night’s delivery was up 8% from the Dec. 7 episode and marked a 31% jump from the 1.61 million for the season four debut.

All told, the penultimate episode of Homeland’s fourth campaign, tallied 2.7 million for the night, up 5% from the previous week and 34% from the 2 million on this season’s opening night.

The Affair, Homeland’s lead-out, averaged 837,000 watchers, 10% more than the prior week and 65% more than the 507,000 who saw the pilot.

With encores, penultimate installment of The Affair’s first season drew 1.1 million watchers. That matched its total of the past three weeks, according to officials at the premium network, and registered 31% amelioration from its premiere night.